NATO, Russia council to meet on April 20 in Brussels

BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - NATO envoys will hold their
first formal meeting with Russia in almost two years on April
20, the Western alliance said on Tuesday, with the crisis in
Ukraine, reducing military risks and Afghanistan on the agenda.

"It is not a return to business as usual, but we do need
dialogue," said a NATO spokeswoman.

The forum bringing together Russia and its former Cold War
adversary NATO was never officially suspended, but met last in
June 2014 as Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula
strained ties. Both sides have now agreed to hold talks at
ambassador level in Brussels in the NATO-Russia Council.

While the West and Russia remain at odds over Ukraine, the
meeting is a sign of willingness to improve diplomatic relations
that could help avoid any accidental clashes in the region.

As NATO accelerates its biggest military build-up in eastern
Europe since the Cold War, the alliance wants to talk to Moscow
about improved military transparency to avoid misunderstandings.

NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia in
April 2014 in protest against Moscow's annexation of Crimea.

NATO said high-level political contacts with Russia could
continue but NATO and Russian ambassadors met only twice since
the Crimea crisis erupted, in March 2014 and then in early June
of the same year.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)